Selectmen cleared of Open Meeting Law violation

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Lynne Klaft ITEM CORRESPONDENT

LANCASTER — The Board of Selectmen — specifically, Chairman Jean Syria and Vice Chairman/Clerk Susan Smiley — have been cleared of Open Meeting Law violation complaints as filed by David Dunn this past April and May.

The State Attorney General's Office informed the board in a letter dated July 22 that determinations were made on the following allegations made in Dunn's complaint: 1) the board refused to permit the local cable access station from recording its April 1 meeting; 2) the board has been deliberating outside of noticed meetings; and 3) that the board has held discussions in executive session that were not appropriate for executive session.

Dunn's complaint was presented to selectmen on April 23 and selectmen responded through town counsel in a letter dated May 20.

Dunn appealed to the State Attorney General's Office on May 30. In that letter, he said selectmen violated Open Meeting Law before and during the Dec. 31, 2013 selectmen's meeting, during which former Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco was informed the town would not be renewing his contract.

The State Attorney General's Office said that it "declined to review this allegation because: 1) the allegation was not first raised in a complaint filed with the public body (Board of Selectmen); and 2) the allegation is untimely (a complaint must be made within 30 days of an alleged violation)."

The state also declined to review Dunn's allegations that the board deliberated outside of open meetings and held discussions in executive session that were not appropriate for executive session, because "our office will not conduct broad audits of public bodies based on generalized allegations without specific dates or date ranges."

The review of the complaint also found that the board did not violate the Open Meeting Law by requesting the Sterling/Lancaster Community Television (SLCTV) cable company not record the April 1 meeting. The state reviewed Dunn's original complaint, selectmen's response, Dunn's May 30 complaint filed with the State Attorney General's Office and an April 11 article from The Item.

The determination noted that, according to regulations, while any member of the public may record an open meeting, a public body is not required to make an audio or video recording of its own meeting.

"The complaint does not allege that anyone was denied the right to record or broadcast the Board's April 1, 2014 meeting. Rather it asserts that the board asked an SLCTV member not record the meeting and the member complied. As SLCTV was acting as an agent of the board, recording the meeting pursuant to a contract, the board's request was akin to a decision by the board itself not to record the meeting. Because a public body is not required to broadcast or record its meetings, we find that the board did not violate the Open Meeting Law. We make no finding as to whether the board was required by contract to permit SLCTV to record or broadcast the meeting," according to the written decision.

A footnote read: "A statement by SLCTV President Robert Bloom, as reported by The Clinton Item, suggests that there was some confusion about SLCTV's role and whether it needed the board's permission to record the meeting."

The State Attorney General's Office restates at the end of the letter that it finds that selectmen did not violate the Open Meeting Law for reasons stated and consider the matter closed.

Dunn's response to the determination:

"I have written up and will deliver a formal request for the release of public records that include telephone, cell phone and emails of Jean Syria and Susan Smiley for the period of November and December of 2013; and January, May, June and July of 2014," Dunn replied in reference to the decision. "If there is little to no communication between the two, then I was wrong, but if there has been contact (between the two) outside of meetings, that will be shown in these records."

Smiley shared the news with her supporters in an email Wednesday.

"I hope that many folks can pick up the pieces of this mess and move on. I understand that change is difficult and the decision not to renew Mr. Pacheco's contract was strictly done, on my behalf, for the betterment of the Town of Lancaster," she wrote. "I do expect that we will come to see that more and more in the days, months and years in front of us. Some decisions are very challenging to make and this is one that did not come quickly or without specific consideration to all inputs from town employees, town residents and those in and around our community that service our town."

She added, "The other additional allegations and false personal innuendoes of me filtering money away from the softball league and town shall also prove bogus (town auditors have already cleared) and that will be released as well in the days ahead."